House Alarm Yes or No

LirW

We just had a heated argument in the car about house alarms, since Christmas is coming and the annual break-in olympics are about to start.

Basically should we get a fancy system or instead a proper hunting crossbow and make the dog sharp?

Decisions, decisions.

Ronaldinho

Get one

LirW

I've always wanted a crossbow though.

jamesbere

One solution, landmines.
Just don't forget where you put them

Tigger

i rescue digs that are on the restriced list and that have issues sonwere abandoned
currently i have three
i have a state of the art alarm but i dobt set it

LirW

Only the strongest and smartest kids survive

For Forks Sake

Moat around the house with drawbridge.

Cannon on the roof. Crossbow at the ready.

crosstownk

Ronaldinho wrote: »

Get one

^^This.

We'd a break in earlier this year and if wasn't for the fact that the neighbour heard the alarm and then called the Gardaí (who arrived in minutes) and rumbled them before they had time to upend the place. They ran from the Gardaí and weren't caught but at least nothing was taken and only minimal damage done.

It's the one and only time the alarm has had to do it's job and that one time made it well worth the money.

Get one.

jamesbere

For Forks Sake wrote: »

Moat around the house with drawbridge.

Cannon on the roof. Crossbow at the ready.

Don't forget the boiling tar

alchemist33

Place sharpened sticks smeared with excrement at the bottom of pits covered with twigs and leaves.

Seth Brundle

Tigger wrote: »

i rescue digs that are on the restriced list and that have issues sonwere abandoned
currently i have three
i have a state of the art alarm but i dobt set it

Fair play to you. I don't know how anyone could abandon a dig, especially a restriced one!
The lousers!

Atlantic Dawn

Get one of those IP cameras with both way communication so if someone does break in you can shout abuse at them through your phone... "I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you leave my house now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.".

Pac1Man

Ah yeah. The old "do you have a house alarm" trick.

Which one are you Lir?

LirW

But my point is if I'd learn the Xena warcry and stand at the top of the stairs with a loaded crossbow (it even has a scope, folks!) wouldn't that mean no break-ins ever again?
At night we'd have the option of a naked armed person with warcry. As a burglar, I'd be terrified.

LirW

Pac1Man wrote: »

Ah yeah. The old "do you have a house alarm" trick.

Which one are you Lir?

I know where your house lives.


ITT: I need an excuse to spend a lot of money on a crossbow and the man wouldn't let me.

For Forks Sake

alchemist33 wrote: »

Place sharpened sticks smeared with excrement at the bottom of pits covered with twigs and leaves.

That is also a 100% accurate description of the toilets in a petrol station in Castlebar that I stopped at last week.

Gerrup Outta Dat!

Most neighbours ignore the sound of a house alarm and don't call Gardaí.
Anyone who does call the Gardaí will be told it's a civil matter by Gardaí.

Wibbs

Get an alarm, secure your double glazing as most can be removed quite easily from outside, which is. A very common way for the scum to gain access. Old style single pane stuff you had to at least smash it, so would risk more attention. Ditto with rear patio doors and locks, secure them too. Infra Red floodlights back and front. Get CCTV if you like, though I may be wrong but I always thought going too visible with security might actually make you more. a target as you'd look like you'd have more to steal? If you can keep and care for a dog they're about the best alarms going. They hear everything.

Wibbs

Gerrup Outta Dat! wrote: »

Anyone who does call the Gardaill be told it's a civil matter by Garda

Wut? Eh... no. Burglary is not a civil matter and the Guards will respond. How quickly they respond in some areas is another matter...

branie2

House alarm

Paulzx

Get an alarm. With a bit of luck your neighbour won't have one and the scummers will target their house instead.

If they want to get in they will. You're just trying to ensure your house is more awkward than the ones around you

LirW

Wibbs wrote: »

Get an alarm, secure your double glazing as most can be removed quite easily from outside, which is. A very common way for the scum to gain access. Old style single pane stuff you had to at least smash it, so would risk more attention. Ditto with rear patio doors and locks, secure them too. Infra Red floodlights back and front. Get CCTV if you like, though I may be wrong but I always thought going too visible with security might actually make you more. a target as you'd look like you'd have more to steal? If you can keep and care for a dog they're about the best alarms going. They hear everything.

The dog is already around, she's a trooper, just doesn't look menacing (it's an Aussie, looks like a collie though). Might have to get her a pitbull costume.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I bought a Klingon cloaking device on eBay a couple of years ago. Does a great job.

harry Bailey esq

Get one. A fella out creeping houses won't even chance his arm and move on to the next one, unless of course you have something really valuable(moneywise obviously not the wife and kids) and the creeper is privy to this. If you live in a rural location a good tip for alarm systems is to do some research and shop local. The police could take any amount of time to turn up, the local firm will be straight out, they wouldn't be taking names on notepads either.

beertons

Buy a big dog bowl, the biggest you can find. Fill with water and leave at the front door. Someone comes up, looks at the bowl, then fecks off. Win.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Gerrup Outta Dat! wrote: »

Most neighbours ignore the sound of a house alarm and don't call Gardaí.
Anyone who does call the Gardaí will be told it's a civil matter by Gardaí.

Around here we respond to each other's alarms and have our spare keys and alarm codes shared - I have them for Mr A, Mr A has Mr C, Mr C has mine etc.

The_Valeyard

Alarm
Dog
Know your neighbours, keep an eye on their property and they will keep an eye on yours.

Tommy Ferguson

Cain Whining Fish wrote: »

Around here we respond to each other's alarms and have our spare keys and alarm codes shared - I have them for Mr A, Mr A has Mr C, Mr C has mine etc.

Do ye have key parties? Stick it in like.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Tommy Ferguson wrote: »

Do ye have key parties? Stick it in like.

Hi again,

You don't get any funnier.

Tigger

kbannon wrote: »

Fair play to you. I don't know how anyone could abandon a dig, especially a restriced one!
The lousers!

to be clear i find this very funny
i like that you are laughinh at dyslexis
i would noy like if you welnlaughing at yhe dyslexics

Are Am Eye

Get the external box. Don't bother connecting it up or anything.

freeze4real

Had our house briken into yesterday through the back wall which is about 8 to 10ft.
The front door lock was wrapped aggressively with a selotape so no one would catch them at the act. Luckily someone was in the house so they coudnt take anything of value apart from a missing house key which we are tryung to determine if lost/stolen.

A couple of weeks ago I came back and saw front door handle wrapped eith high vis jacket.. Now wondering if house was marked.

_Kaiser_

What do ya do when you're renting and there's no alarm though? Can't exactly just get one fitted yourself. Could ask a LL but in the current market why would they bother. It also affects your contents insurance too.

cantdecide

Wibbs wrote: »

secure your double glazing as most can be removed quite easily from outside

Most double glazing from around the last 15 years would be 'internally beaded' - the strips that hold the glass in are in the room, and not out in the garden side. This is infinitely more secure than 'externally beaded' glazing. If you have double glazing from before this (PVC or aluminium), you could have the rubber strips replaced for additional tightness which would inhibit burglars somewhat.

Wibbs wrote: »

Ditto with rear patio doors and locks, secure them too.

Lots of patio doors can be lifted up and out of their rails when the slider is shut and locked. You can easily retrofit a DIY shim at the frame head alongside the lock stile to prevent the door from lifting up in the locked position. A very easy and worthwhile mod.

EDIT: whoop! My 10,000th post

Rhyme

Phonewatch are pretty good. Box out front, alarm activated cameras inside, each camera has a speaker and a dangerously loud alarm (inside the house). The whole thing is set up with a SIM card so no cables to rip out and if any of the devices are tampered with when the alarm is set, the alarm goes off.

The guy who installed my parents one set it off so they'd know what it sounded like and it was physically painful to be in the house for longer than a few moments.

corner of hells

Rhyme wrote: »

Phonewatch are pretty good. Box out front, alarm activated cameras inside, each camera has a speaker and a dangerously loud alarm (inside the house). The whole thing is set up with a SIM card so no cables to rip out and if any of the devices are tampered with when the alarm is set, the alarm goes off.

The guy who installed my parents one set it off so they'd know what it sounded like and it was physically painful to be in the house for longer than a few moments.

I used to be an installer in alarm industry years ago and can remember Phonewatch appearing on the scene.
They invited engineers and installers to a demonstration house and invited one or two people to break in.
I can still see the looks on their faces as one of my colleagues managed to get into the house and was looking out the living room window after disabling the dialler to a central station as well disabling the bell box.
I think they have improved , I hope they have.

c_man

Cain Whining Fish wrote: »

I bought a Klingon cloaking device on eBay a couple of years ago. Does a great job.

They were good but modern day burglars utilise phased polaron beams to detect cloaked houses unfortunately.

Nettle Soup

Rural = No

Urban = Yes

I did not move to the countryside to worry about alarms etc. If they do want to rob me, an alarm wont stop them.
Very few break-ins in our area anyway. I only heard of 1 in last 10 years.
One of the neighbours got one but it was always going off so he binned it.

riffmongous

You'll need a license for that crossbow in ireland, like applying for a gun which is fairly complicated. I'm no expert on the irish law but it might be even harder to get than a gun since there are less acceptable reasons for having one. Alarm it is I think

OldGoat

LirW wrote: »

I've always wanted a crossbow though.

Firearms license required.
A recurve, long, traditional flat, horse or a compound bow though...grand.

seamus

Don't bother your hole with a monitored alarm. Monitored or not, modern thieves are in and out in a few minutes, and unless one of your neighbours reacts instantly, they're not going to get caught in the act.

Ignore the ads about guys being caught in the act or burglars being afraid of monitored alarms. It's all nonsense.

All a monitored alarm will do is give you advance warning that your day/night/holiday has been ruined.

Standard house alarm and a couple of cameras, more than enough.